City launching safe parks effort

STOCKTON - As the head of the commission that oversees the city's 66 parks, Michael Busby says Stockton's recreational spaces are among the finest in California, yet burdened by one very significant challenge.

STOCKTON - As the head of the commission that oversees the city's 66 parks, Michael Busby says Stockton's recreational spaces are among the finest in California, yet burdened by one very significant challenge.

In too many of the parks, Busby says, people don't feel safe.

And as a result, they don't use them.

In the coming days, Busby said this week, Stockton's Parks and Recreation Commission is preparing to launch an effort it is calling the Take Back Our Parks Safety Awareness Initiative. Busby said the official kickoff will be coordinated with the Aug. 5 National Night Out, a neighborhood crime and drug prevention effort sponsored in Stockton by the Police Department.

"We're being challenged by the criminal activity going on in our parks," Busby said. "They're the heart of our neighborhoods. The heart of a neighborhood should reflect a positive influence. We're going to educate, engage and empower neighborhoods to take back our parks."

Specifics of the initiative are still being worked out and are expected to be a key topic of discussion at Monday's meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission at City Hall.

The commission includes individuals, including Busby, who were appointed by the City Council, along with Mayor Anthony Silva, San Joaquin County Supervisor Carlos Villapudua and representatives from the boards of the four districts with schools in Stockton.

How big a problem is crime in the city's parks? Police Chief Eric Jones said it varies from one neighborhood to the next.

"I go to many neighborhood and community meetings," Jones said. "There are different sentiments in the communities as to how they feel about their parks.

"We always say consistently to use and occupy your parks. If you don't and we have a vacant park, it just invites a criminal element. Whoever is occupying public space pretty much defines what a community is about."

Jones said the initiative by Busby's group is a positive step and added that a key tenet of the Police Department's anticrime strategy is for officers to be more visible in parks.

"Parks are often the heart and soul of a community," Jones said. "The perceived health of a park often is indicative of the perceived health of a community. Especially as we rebuild the Police Department, we're very happy to get back into the parks with good, solid community policing."

Busby said he wants civic, corporate and community leaders to become involved in improving park safety.

"The police can't do it by themselves," he said. "Communities can't do it by themselves. Collectively we can. The spirit of the initiative is to bring people and parties together."

Contact reporter Roger Phillips at (209) 546-8299 or rphillips@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/phillipsblog and on Twitter @rphillipsblog.